Athlete health

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid (35) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif. When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality, racial injustice and social inequality, he was vilified by people who considered it an offense against the country, the flag and the military. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Colin Kaepernick was a second-round draft pick in 2011. The next year he led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl. By 2016, he had begun kneeling on the sideline at games during the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality. Soon after, he was gone from the NFL, and he...

FILE - In this April 26, 2019, file photo, the Stanley Cup playoffs logo is seen on the ice during a light and sound check prior to Game 1 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes, in New York. The NHL nailed down the final details of a playoff format if the season can resume on the same day word came out that another player has tested positive for the coronavirus.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

The NHL cleared the way Thursday for players to return to practice rinks next week and firmed up its playoff format even as a ninth player tested positive for the coronavirus. After unveiling the final details of its 24-team plan if the season is able to resume this summer, the league said teams...

FILE - In this July 16, 2014, file photo, a student walks through empty seats inside Kenan Stadium at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., where preparations continue for the upcoming college football season. The crippling grip the coronavirus pandemic has had on the sports world has forced universities, leagues and franchises to evaluate how they might someday welcome back fans. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world: ___ The Premier League says one person was found to have the coronavirus after the fifth round of testing of players and staff at soccer clubs. The league did not identity the person. Testing is taking place ahead of...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Archer won't pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and his time with the club may be over. Pittsburgh announced Wednesday that 31-year-old Archer underwent surgery to relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. The procedure was conducted on Tuesday in St. Louis, and...

Restaurant owner Michael Cranfill poses in front of sign on the restaurant's boarded up windows in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 2, 2020 to honor his friend former Indiana University football player Chris Beaty. Beaty was one of two people fatally shot in Indianapolis during protests over the death of George Floyd.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — To those who knew former Indiana University football player Chris Beaty, it was no surprise that he would participate in a protest over the death of George Floyd. That a man they saw as a “gentle giant” who brought positivity everywhere he went would turn up dead in an alley...

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2019, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner (30) plays during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in Pittsburgh. Conner stressed he's not concerned about his future as he enters the final year of his contract. The team declined to offer him an extension following three seasons in which he has struggled to stay healthy. "That's the game," Conner said.(AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — James Conner didn't treat the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle, but an opportunity. While the shutdown forced the Pittsburgh Steelers running back to cancel a couple of planned vacations, it also gave him time — a lot of time — to filter out the noise...

FILE - In a Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 file photo, Houston Rockets forward Thabo Sefolosha (18), left, and Denver Nuggets guard PJ Dozier (35) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, in Denver. Time has not healed all wounds for Sefolosha, the NBA veteran who says he was attacked by a group of New York Police Department officers in April 2015 while they were arresting him outside a nightclub in the city’s Chelsea neighborhood. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Thabo Sefolosha knows what it’s like to be a black man, on the ground, being beaten by police officers. Such was the scenario when George Floyd died in Minneapolis last week. And five years ago, Sefolosha found himself in a similarly frightening place. “I was just horrified by what I saw,"...

NFL owners have tabled a proposal for an alternative to the onside kick with a fourth-and-15 play and approved testing expanded use of video replay in the preseason to aid in officiating. On a conference call Thursday, the 32 owners also increased the number of players who may be designated for...

A view of the Globe Life Field, the newly-built home of the Texas Rangers, with the roof open from a perspective along the third base line is shown in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The large video screen at the top of the stadium shows upcoming high school graduation ceremonies for the class of 2020 to be held at the park. The Rangers were supposed to have its home opener on March 31, against the Los Angeles Angels, but have yet to see one game played in it this season amid the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players appeared likely to propose more regular-season games this year while holding to their demand for full prorated salaries, people familiar with their deliberations told The Associated Press. Washington pitcher Max Scherzer, among eight players on the union's executive...

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2019, file photo, New Jersey Devils right wing Kurtis Gabriel works out prior to an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Newark, N.J. The NHL is hoping to move to Phase 2 of its return-to-play protocol, including the opening of practice facilities and allowing small group workouts, early next month.
The league, which was forced to pause its season on March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, released a 22-page memo detailing the plan Monday, May 25, 2020. The document stresses there's no exact date for the start of Phase 2 or a timetable for how long it will last. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world: ___ Iowa State athletic director Jaime Pollard is telling Cyclones fans that football home games will be played at no more than 50% capacity at Jack Trice Stadium, pending a change in state and local health guidelines...